Poland officially joins club of LNG importers

Poland has officially joined the club of worldwide LNG importing nations with the arrival of the first commercial cargo at the Swinoujscie LNG terminal from the world’s largest LNG exporter, Qatar. 

The 210,000 cbm Al Nuaman docked at the Swinoujscie LNG terminal’s jetty at around 15.30pm local time.

Unloading of chilled gas is expected to be complete on Saturday when a ceremony will be held to officially name the LNG terminal after late President Lech Kaczyński who died in a plane crash in Russia in 2010.

This is the first LNG shipment under a 20-year contract Polish Gas and Oil Company (PGNiG) has with Qatargas.

Swinoujscie LNG terminal, operated by Gaz-System’s unit Polskie LNG, is Poland’s flagship project to diversify gas supplies and reduce dependence on pipeline imports from Russia.

The LNG terminal has since December last year received two cargoes from Qatar for testing purposes onboard the Q-flex LNG carrier Al Nuaman.

PGNiG said in May that the first commercial delivery has been brought forward to June 17 from mid-July, due to an earlier start-up at the Swinoujscie LNG terminal.

The second commercial cargo was booked through a tender seeking spot cargoes and will be delivered next week by Statoil from its Hammerfest LNG facility on Melkoya island aboard the 147,980 cbm Arctic Princess.

The LNG terminal in Swinoujście is designed to receive, regasify and supply of up to 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Polish transmission grid. There are plans on doubling the terminal’s capacity as well as adding LNG bunkering infrastructure.

LNG World News Staff